Effects Of Learning And Attention On The Developmental Eye Movement (DEM) Test.

This review investigates the influence of learning effects and attention on the repeatability of the Developmental Eye Movement (DEM) Test. The DEM test is a widely administered test for evaluation of saccadic eye movements and visual-verbal automaticity. Review of pertinent literature suggests that the DEM Test has been found to have poor repeatability characterized by improvement of scores in subjects. These improvements were commonly suggested to result from learning effects and/or attention levels. The overall conclusion from this review is that the DEM Test, like some of its predecessors, has poor repeatability due to influences from factors such as attention and the effects of learning. However proper environment and instruction can negate the influence of these factors on test performance.